To thwart a theft, Glosser got blasted and bounced — twice — by a getaway van. The vehicle got hurt far worse than Glosser, who refused to let two crooks steal old tires from a South Peoria tow-truck company — a competitor located across the street from his employer.

“It wasn’t about the tires,” growls Glosser, 45. “It had to do with the fact that they were thieves. And I can’t stand a thief.”

If Glosser sounds like the Caped Crusader, then his Batmobile is a wrecker. For eight years, he has worked for Inabit Towing, 216 Dodge St.

“I’m a driver, a painter, a computer tech, whatever it takes,” he says.

Often, what it takes in that trade is hyper-vigilance. Impounded cars make for inviting targets for ne’er-do-wells. Last year, six cars got stolen from Inabit, Glosser says.

“It’s constant, at every place on the South End,” he says.

Around the corner sits Barney’s Auto Service, 3011 SW Adams St.

“He’s a competitor, but he’s a good friend,” Glosser says. “We look out for each other.”

Owner Barney Allen, 69, echoes that sentiment: “You know how there are neighborhood watches? We have our own watch.”

On Sundays, both businesses are closed. But Glosser popped into work on Sunday to do some painting inside. When he went outside about 1 p.m., there was an odd guest in the gritty neighborhood.

“I noticed a minivan creeping around,” he says.

Glosser doubted a soccer mom was behind the wheel. So he stopped outside Inabit and watched as the minivan slid up to Barney’s Auto.

Two men got out and headed to a weathered pickup truck parked outside the business. From the truck bed, they hoisted out four tires and stashed them in the van. The pair got back into the van, readying to depart.

The tires were so worn, they had little value. But that doesn’t mean anyone can just pull up and steal them.

Glosser rushed over and asked if the two had permission to take the tires. He said the driver just hung his head, while the other blurted, “Some guy (inside Barney’s) gave us permission.”

Glosser replied, “I’ve been watching you. There’s no one there. So tell me, what guy?”

At that, the two men got out of the van and began to put the tires back into the pickup.

The thieves mulled their next step for a moment. With the van facing the business, they’d have to back up to leave.

Glosser whipped out his cell phone and called Barney’s owner. Meanwhile, Glosser scampered behind the van to block its path. He slapped the rear of the van, so the driver would know Glosser was back there.

The driver didn’t care. He gunned the engine, with the van hurtling in reverse and whacking Glosser, who was flung sideways, according to a police report.

But Glosser popped right back up. As the driver threw the transmission into drive, Glosser darted in front of the van to block its path. But the van’s grille rammed into Glosser, flipping him hard onto the hood.

“I dented it,” he says.

His momentum carried Glosser over the driver’s side of the van. He reached through the half-open window, grabbing the driver with one hand and the window with the other. As the car accelerated, Glosser lost grip of the driver and the window cracked off.

“I landed on my keister,” Glosser says.

Yet even in the topsy-turvy tumult, Glosser — who somehow wasn’t hurt — noted the van’s license-plate number. Summoned by Barney’s owner, police soon arrived to take down Glosser’s account. He says when police ran the plate number, an officer recognized the van’s owner as a familiar Pekinite.

“They’d dealt with his stupidity before,” Glosser says.

Peoria police asked Pekin police to be on the look-out for the van. As of Monday, no arrests. But Glosser was eager for a chance later in the day to look at mug shots to help identify the crooks. Plus, he says the van was stuffed with tires, which he thinks might’ve been swiped from elsewhere.

At Barney’s Auto on Monday, owner Allen chuckled over the attempted theft of bald tires. “If they would’ve asked for the tires, we would’ve given them the tires,” he says.